‘Then the king made Daniel great, and gave him many great gifts, and made him to rule over the whole province of Babylon, and to be chief governor over all the wise men of Babylon. And Daniel made request of the king, and he appointed Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego over the affairs of the province of Babylon. But Daniel was in the gate of the king.'
The king honoured his promises of rewards, and gave him many great gifts and a position of great authority. We do not know exactly what it was, and fortunately for him, for he was young, he would have advisers, but it possibly made him supreme governor of the province of Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar would want him always within reach. He was also made ‘Rab signin' (chief overseer) over the wise men of Babylon. This did not necessarily involve him in their activities. He did not need to involve himself with them, and what follows is testimony enough to the fact that he remained totally faithful to the God of heaven. But it was a position of great honour and prestige, and meant that when the king needed guidance in the future he was always there to call on without incurring jealousy. And for a time at least the wise men were probably grateful to him. He had saved their lives.
Daniel did not forget his friends, indeed he knew that he would need them, and he requested that they be appointed to positions were they could assist him, a favour which was immediately granted. So they too had positions of authority. But Daniel himself had his place in the royal entourage and the palace offices (‘the gate of the king'). He was close to the king, with ready access to him.
However, the overall importance of the incident as far as the readers were concerned was that it revealed that Yahweh was supreme over all. He alone had been able to do what the servants of the gods of Babylon had said was impossible.